Parliament wants to spend significantly more on agriculture
Published: Thursday, Dec 7th 2023, 15:20
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 7th 2023, 15:21
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Next year, Parliament wants to make the same amount of money available for direct payments to farms as in 2023. On Thursday, the National Council made the same decision as the Council of States when discussing the budget.
The National Council reached its decision by 121 votes to 64 with one abstention. Compared to the Federal Council's proposal, Parliament's decision means an increase in funding of CHF 54.8 million.
A minority of the National Council's Finance Committee demanded in vain that the national government follow suit. This would have meant that the cross-sectional cut of 2 percent across all areas decided by the Federal Council would also have been applied to direct payments. "It is understandable that the symmetry of victims must also affect agriculture*, said Claudia Friedl (SP/SG).
A compromise proposal from the ranks of the Greens, which provided for an increase of CHF 27.4 million and thus a reduction of 1 percent, also failed to gain a majority in the Council.
Cuts in direct payments have a direct impact on the wages of farming families, said Lars Guggisberg (SVP/BE). "Farming families in mountain regions will be hit hardest," warned Markus Ritter (center/SG), President of the Farmers' Association.
Like the Council of States, the National Council also voted in favor of further additional expenditure in the area of agriculture. Among other things, this involves promoting the sale of Swiss wine, protecting livestock and promoting sugar beet production. In total, the additional expenditure excluding direct payments amounts to CHF 19.2 million according to the National Council and CHF 17.2 million according to the Council of States.
In contrast, the National Council was more cautious than the small chamber when it came to regional policy. Unlike the Council of States, it does not want a new contribution of CHF 25 million to the corresponding fund this year.
©Keystone/SDA
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